McVan Blog

As the season of gift giving ramps up, displaying your strongest sellers is a wise move and can mean higher sales. For people of faith, Easter is a celebration on par with Christmas, and many appreciate tokens of their faith as gifts. A child’s First Communion and Confirmation are other important days that are often celebrated with gifts. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, two days that often stump the gift giver, are perfect opportunities to give religious jewelry.

Any retail establishment will eventually encounter dissatisfied customers, but religious jewelry retailers have several extra considerations since they’re dealing in high-value commodities. As a relgious jewelry retailer, it’s highly likely you sell several different brands, meaning you’re juggling long-term business relationships with different distributors. This is only half the battle when it comes to unhappy customers.

If you've ever browsed the aisles of a jewelry store, you've likely encountered a lot of terms referring to the silver selection. Silver filled, sterling silver...what do these mean? Knowing the difference between sterling silver and silver filled is important; it will dictate the quality of your piece and how you should take care of it. This is critically important if you want something that’s truly valuable. Let's take a look at these unique terms.

The four way cross, or cruciform, is seen frequently in religious imagery and jewelry, the latter usually cast in beautiful sterling silver or gold. Religious imagery medals first became popular in the 16th century when the images became recognized as a symbol of faith and devotion. Today, the cruciform is widespread and worn by many. But have you ever wondered what the four way cross symbolizes? This humble medal actually has a very rich and vibrant history.

Sterling silver is a beautiful and durable metal that is made for everyday wear. Following a few basic use and care guidelines will ensure that your sterling silver jewelry gives you a lifetime of enjoyment.

While we here at McVan pride ourselves on being the best supplier of wholesale religious products, such as gifts, jewelry and memorabilia. We do understand that there are other manufacturers out there that do quality work as well. We’re never shy about telling our customers – or potential customers – about these other makers of religious goods when we’re asked, because like we said, we’re all in this business together. And certainly if our customers or potential customers can’t find the product that they’re looking for from us, we want them to be able to find it from someone else – it’s only right.

Whether you're an established religious retailer or you're just getting your start in this rewarding industry, you probably understand the importance of using Facebook and other social media channels to point prospective customers toward your shop. But simply maintaining a Facebook page isn't going to reel in the leads you seek. You need to take advantage of another powerful piece of the Facebook puzzle -- namely, its advertising platform.

Whether you’re running a brick and mortar store or operating strictly online (or doing both), an effective retail display is a must. Shopping these days is all about the consumer experience and how products are presented. Exhibiting your products is the key to moving merchandise and keeping customers coming back for more. This post will further examine the importance of religious retail display in online and brick and mortar environments, offer tips on what you can do to enhance display, and improve the customer experience.

Every religious retail store pins its hopes on building a loyal customer base, with a corresponding increase in sales. But the first step is to attract local customers to your shop -- and to get that kind of attention, you may have to enhance your normal marketing routine. Let's look at four creative strategies to draw more buyers through the doors of your religious retail business.

It's every religious retailer's nightmare. A customer storms angrily into your store, accusing you of selling "phony" jewelry because his jeweler has determined that the item he or she just bought isn't genuine sterling silver after all. What should you do? Let's examine some strategies for placating the customer, preserving your brand's good name, and making sure you don't misrepresent similar religious silver jewelry going forward.